Marcia Thornton Jones's Blog, page 45

News

So. I have this YA thriller, hitting shelves tomorrow (Tuesday, August 2, if you're not reading today). The reason I'm posting about it here: I'd love you to take advantage of me. Well, my money. I'll be donating one book to an underserved student for every 10 sold, now through August 31 through the Novel Neighbor.  I'll sign yours, too. Please consider making me spend my money. Thanks for considering!Now back to writing my new middle grade. 😁

A Few of My Favorite Tools...

 By Charlotte Bennardo

My favorite tools! 

First, I LOVE A THESAURUS! 

And not the wimpy one that Word or Microsoft gives you, although it's good in a pinch. I cherish my battered, one and a half inches thick Oxford one because it has every conceivable synonym. It gives two antonyms, and if you need it, the part of speech. When you're writing a novel, the same word can reappear a lot. Why wrack my brain when my fingers can solve the issue quicker than I can Google? 

Which brings me to my second favorite tool, Google. Back in the old days...well, you know: libraries, card catalogs, books. How easy, quick, and wonderful is it to type in "How far is it from Tintagel to Glastonbury Tor?" I needed this information for my Master's thesis novel. I got the answer in kilometers and miles, and got a map too. Research is such a breeze that when I see something wrong in a novel that an author didn't spend five minutes to research, I want to dash off an angry email with a link to the correct information.

And finally, critique groups! It's not always a pleasant experience, but necessary. My partners point out bad things that I shouldn't have written: cliches, repetitive words, passive sentences, timeline gaps, etc. They are like busy elves doing the editing work I should have. 

Photo by RF._.studio: Pexels

Charlotte writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, and paranormal genres. She is the author of the middle grade Evolution Revolution trilogy, Simple Machines, Simple Plans, and Simple Lessons. She co-authored the YA novels Blonde OPS, Sirenz, and Sirenz Back in Fashion. She has two short stories in the Beware the Little White Rabbit (Alice through the Wormhole) and Scare Me to Sleep (Faces in the Wood) anthologies. Currently she is working on several novels for both children and adults, and her MFA. She lives in NJ with her family and two demanding cats. When they trimmed the backyard tree, the crazy squirrel couple had to move out.

My Go-To (Holly Schindler)

I love my phone. I love the fact that I can type ideas or pull up a chapter on Google docs and stay at work even when I'm standing in line or in a waiting room. But what is my absolute tried-and-true? What never needs updating or crashes or fails to connect? 

Ahem:

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A post shared by Holly Schindler (@hollyschindler)

"Looking Away At" Smack Dab in the Imagination by Dia Calhoun

 Bayo Akomolafe Ph.D., is what I would call a riveting, visionary thinker who speaks and writes with a mythopoeic imagination about contemporary issues. Saying he makes me think twice is not quite right. Rather, I would say he makes me turn my imagination inside out and upside down. 

Akomolafe describes talking with his autistic son. He said his son "looks away at" him. Yes, you read that correctly. His son does not "look away from" him but "looks away at" him. When I heard that, something clicked in my mind. Isn't that a fitting description for how authors and poets work? We use metaphors, action, storytelling, and characterization to show our ideas, emotions, and driving passions. 

Picture trying to see a faint star on a starry night sky. We can see it better with our peripheral vision than we can if we look straight at it. I want to teach myself to "look away at," to see what can only be seen and understood with my peripheral vision and then communicate that in art.

Check out Akomolafe. His passion comes through when he speaks, so I highly recommend you start there.

This podcast from Sounds True, Let Us Make Sanctuary, is a good introduction.

All That Remains is Gold

 Wow! Is summer flying by! It's been a season of ups and downs, and when things get too overwhelming or I find myself needing to comfort a loved one, a friend, even myself - I often turn to books.

New books offer plenty of wisdom and comfort, but I think we often hear in our heads the voices of the ones we know so well.

My favorite classic book is The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery. "And he went back to meet the fox.

"Goodbye," he said."

Goodbye," said the fox. "And here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential to the eye."

"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated so that he would be sure to remember. 

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes rose so important."

"It is the time that I have wasted for my rose - " said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember."

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."

"I am responsible for my rose," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.""

What is your favorite classic book, or one you go to for comfort?

Happy reading!

AM Peaslee

(https://www.etsy.com/listing/11186697...)

Reading is the Best Teacher

I've been writing very little this summer. I've put down a couple story seeds, penned a poem or two, and well, there's this blog I do each month. That's about it, unless you count shopping and to-do lists. What I have been doing quite a bit of is reading, and when you think about it, reading is one of the most valuable tools of all. This is why many authors will tell you that if you want to be a good writer, the best thing to do is read, read, read. How else to know what sounds good to your ear, what looks right on the page, what will reach into your heart and touch you? If I can crack the secrets of the books I love to read, it should make me a better writer. So, if nothing else, I read.

Each summer, from my job as an elementary school librarian, I take home a box of books. This box generally holds a thoroughly unrealistic amount of middle grade books. To be honest, I have never once finished reading all the books I've taken home, but I'm okay with that. I love the potential of those books. I love the choices it gives me. When I finish one, I go to the box and ponder which will be next. This summer, I confess, I was behind on my Goodreads goal, so I took home a bunch of novels in verse, knowing they would be quick reads. And also, they were books I'd really been wanting to read.

We had a serious hot spell that only ended recently. For several weeks, the temperature was over 80 degrees. I know, the rest of the country laughs at that temperature, but in Alaska, that's pretty hot. We also have a number of wildfires burning nearby, so it was smoky, which meant I didn't really want to get out and do anything too strenuous. Reading was the perfect activity; I sat and read three novels in verse in very quick succession.

Which leads me to an important point about novels in verse - you can read them quickly, since they generally have fewer than half the usual words on a page. And yet, despite their scarcity of word count, they are able to tell a complete, cohesive, and emotionally impactful story. It truly impresses me that these authors can make me understand the plot and feel all the feels, while being so economical with their words. 

And now, here, I will give a brief review of the three books I devoured on those hot smoky days.

Rez Dogs - by Joseph Bruchac 

This timely novel in verse is the first I've seen directly addressing the Covid pandemic. Malian is visiting her grandparents on the reservation when the world shuts down for the first wave of Covide. Her parents are back in the city, sheltering in place, so Malian stays on with her grandparents, attending school online with the reservation's spotty internet. A stray dog shows up and more or less adopts Malian and her grandparents. Though not a lot 'happens' in this story, it is filled with wonderful traditional tales that her grandparents tell which help Malian understand her current situation better. Her final school project helps her to share with her non-native classmates what life was and is like on the reservation, including the fact that her grandparents were forcibly removed from their families to attend boarding schools, and that her mother was adopted out and grew up with no sense of her native self. The isolation and uncertainty that was felt during the early days of Covid comes through clearly, and the importance of family, friends, and connection are strong themes.

Starfish - by Lisa Fipps 
Starfish is the inspiring and uplifting story of Ellie - a girl who learns to like herself and stand up to bullies. It's hard to believe the blatant unkindness others show to Ellie, who is fat in a world that wants her to be thin. Her mom has been putting her on diet after diet since age four, polices every bite that goes into her mouth, and is pushing for bariatric surgery, although Ellie is only eleven, and her aunt nearly died from complications of that very surgery. In this story, it's frustrating to see adults, even teachers, ignore or go along with, and sometimes even encourage, the relentless barrage of insults and slights that Ellie puts up with. Though we've come a long way as a society, for some reason it still often seems acceptable to body shame anyone who doesn't fit the mold. With the help of a new therapist, her Dad, and a few supportive friends, she is finally able to stand up to the bullies, and work up the courage to confront the biggest problem - her mom.

Red, White, and Whole - by Rajani LaRocca

Reha is torn between two identities - on weekdays she is a typical American kid, but once she is home she is a dutiful Indian daughter and member of her larger Indian community. She loves both parts of herself but resents that she never feels fully at home in either world. She loves and admires her parents, but sometimes chafes against the rules they have for her. When her mother becomes seriously ill, Reha realizes that all of that other stuff is small, and all that really matters is for her to be well again. As her mother fights her illness, Reha eventually learns that she can belong to both worlds at the same time, and that she will need all the friends and family of both to get through this crisis. This book made me straight up sob, and to me, that is high praise indeed. A thread of traditional storytelling also runs through this book, enriching the tale.

I have one more middle grade novel in verse in my box, as well as a poetry collection, which I can breeze through to help me catch up on my reading goal. But more importantly, with every book I read, whether in verse or not, on top of the sheer enjoyment, I am learning to be a better writer. 

The most important tool in my writer's toolbox is simply this - READ, READ, READ!!!

Plot is People

 

Life is a bit hectic this week. It’s midterms, and I’m in the middle of grading. I'm also in the middle of a Big Project. And I’ve been chasing a superhero disguised as a first grader. She can leap tall buildings in a single bound, run faster than a locomotive, and when I’m not looking, she time warps. Not kidding! What a little Stormageddon, Dark Lord of the Universe!

My life is full of plot at the moment!

As a result, I didn’t have a chance to put together a thoughtful, inspiring piece.

But, I did find this. And this is so much better than anything I could write. Plot is People, says Leigh Brackett. Courtesy  of Lorin Oberwger and Free Expressions Seminars. You must check out her most excellent seminars and webinars, featuring some of the best agents and writers in the business, exploring all things craft and business in writing.

-- Bobbi Miller

Favorite teaching/ writing tools by: Jennifer Mitchell

 

This month the topic is favorite tools; I am sure writing and teaching are similar with the tools needed to get the “job” done.  If you are anything like me, the more exciting the tools are, the more I am bound to use them.  Everything from Mr. Sketch smelly markers that take me back to my youth, to the new colorful pens I have found to use (that erase) make the job more fun!  As far as my favorite writing utensil for kids and myself alike, the Ticonderoga pencil is the best I have found for everyday use.  

Over the years, I have found that giving kids simple things such as post-it notes to create a writing timelines for their stories can be beneficial.  It is more fun than writing on notebook paper, and you can move it around if the story map isn’t flowing like they thought it would.  This past school year when my students were writing poetry they loved using the computer for the final product so they could change the font to fit the mood and add clipart.  Google documents for me are the way to go with that, so they can share them with me, and I can give editing advice.  If we are daily journaling, I still find that a composition notebook is satisfying so that students can see their writing growth throughout the year.  I know on my end when I flip through the notebooks at the end of the year I am always amazed at their writing progress!  I think by offering various tools and ways to create that hopefully one of the different methods resonate with a student's writing style. 

-- Jennifer Mitchell 3rd grade teacher in the Kansas City area

The Basics by Darlene Beck Jacobson

 What do I need to get started on a new story or manuscript? Besides the obvious IDEAS and IMAGINATION, this is what I use to get started:

Put pencil to paper and write. Portable, versatile, tactile, satisfying. Sometimes the simplest things get the best results.

Darlene can often be found scribbling words, thoughts, and ideas onto paper.  She carries notepads and pencils with her wherever she goes.

This? A Writing Tool?

 by Jody Feldman

Good morning! It’s 8:15.
I’ve worked out, showered, dressed, and now it’s time to write. Just one hand of Solitaire to warm up. 

And let’s throw in a game of Spider Solitaire. Free Cell? Sure. A simple round of Hearts. Why not? And Snood. I can’t leave you out. 

That’s better. Three, two, one... write! 

Look at me go! Great sentence. Fine paragraph. On to the— 

Wait. It’s lunchtime already? Let’s see. I’ve written all of...

78 words. 

***

That was then. After too many days of warming up, I adopted a mantra:
None before noon.
That meant no games until I’d put in the work during what’s typically my most productive time of day. And I’ve stuck with that for too many years to remember.

What used to be my barricade is now my carrot or, better, my cupcake dangling in front of me as an incentive to put in the thought, the time, the effort to get some great sentences and fine paragraphs—multiple, multiple ones—from my mind to the page. 

So, while I have drawers full of fun office supplies, it may be the games that have turned into my favorite and most effective writing tools. That includes you, Wordle. And you, Quordle. 

Jody Feldman, author of The Gollywhopper Games and the soon-to-be released YA thriller, No Way Home, is always looking for new, games to distract her...after noon. Suggestions welcome!